13 July 2007

"Progress" is discharging 22,000!!! American fighting men and women who served in Iraq and returned suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder under the pretext of Pre-existing "Personality Disorder" according to ABC News. ABC News explains, “This diagnosis means the personality disorder existed before military service, and therefore medical care and disability payments are not the military’s responsibility.” Even if they had pre-existing personality disorders, it is the responsibility of DoD for taking them into the service and placing them in the pressure cooker of Iraq! Support these troops suffering doubly from their service and maltreatment by their own service and government.

"No U.S. forces have ever been compelled to stay in sustained combat conditions for as long as the Army units have in Iraq. In World War II, soldiers were considered combat-exhausted after about 180 days in the line. They were withdrawn for rest periods. Moreover, for weeks at a time, large sectors of the front were quiet, giving them time for both physical and psychological rehabilitation. During some periods of the Korean War, units had to fight steadily for fairly long periods but not for a year at a time. In Vietnam, tours were one year in length, and combat was intermittent with significant break periods.

"In Iraq, combat units take over an area of operations and patrol it daily, making soldiers face the prospect of death from an IED or small arms fire or mortar fire several hours each day. Day in and day out for a full year, with only a single two-week break, they confront the prospect of death, losing limbs or eyes, or suffering other serious wounds. Although total losses in Iraq have been relatively small compared to most previous conflicts, the individual soldier is risking death or serious injury day after day for a year. The impact on the psyche accumulates, eventually producing what is now called "post-traumatic stress disorders." "

The DoD is struggling to pay for the bloated contractor overhead of the war (more DoD contractors than troops!) and they are robbing our disabled troops to line the pockets of KBR, Blackwater, and Custer Battles, inter alia.

Get our troops out and take care of their health and well being! Where's Congress when you need it?